To open a meeting, one leader asked me this week: what inspired you or gave you hope during the last weeks – despite corona? Let me share with you what my answer was:
Sitting on my laptop ready to start writing I received a call from my company’s concierge. This was rather untypical, especially in times of Corona when everyone was working from home on reduced working time. The concierge connected me with an external caller. To my upmost surprise, it was and old friend from school whom I have not seen for more than 15 years. In school he’d been the chubby little boy who was always struggling to be somewhat included, never found a girlfriend and was driving people away by trying too hard to be their friend.
When he was calling me now, his voice was full of self-confidence. He told me about how his life changed over the last years. How he made a career in IT. How he fell in love with that one special girl and decided to get married after only one year in a private ceremony in Hawaii. He told me about moving away, getting to know different people and lifestyles and that he is now doing about 2 Iron Men per year. “You know, now that you know how I managed to change my life, you will understand why I am not afraid to call someone I haven’t talked to in 15 years”.
Why is this my answer on what’s inspiring me these days? For me, this is not about a certain way of life that you have to adhere to but the huge shift that this person managed to introduce into his life. It shows me, how much we can achieve as human beings, how we can overcome our own patterns, when we are dedicated, open for change and act braver than we think we would ever be.
Seven Happy Rabbits 